Muto Yuki
'Muto Yuki '("Snow") known after her death as Yusuetsu, was a member of the Tribe. She was the daughter of the Muto Master, Muto Kenji, and his wife Muto Seiko, and a younger first cousin of Muto Shizuka. Although she was later briefly married to Kikuta Akio, she always loved Otori Takeo and became the mother of his son, Kikuta Hisao. Shortly after Hisao's birth, Yuki was poisoned to death by the Kukuta. Since her son possessed the unique ability to communicate with and control the spirits of the dead, her ghost remained attached to Hisao for much of his young life, as she sought revenge on those who had made her suffer. Early Life: Heaven's Net is Wide Originally from Yamagata, Yuki was brought up with more freedom than most women (even by the Tribe's standards) due to her father's indulgence and deep affection for her; Kenji later admitted to Shizuka that Yuki was "probably the only woman I've ever loved". As a daughter of the most skilled member of the Muto family, Yuki inherited a number of the Tribe's strongest gifts, including invisibility and the ability to disassemble her features. She was close companions with Kikuta Akio (who was deeply in love with her, although she did not return his feelings) and there had been talk of a marriage between them since childhood. Across the Nightingale Floor Yuki was assigned by Kenji to help keep watch on Otori Takeo during his and Shigeru's journey to Inuyama, as his Tribe abilities were becoming apparent to the Muto and the Kikuta. After Takeo mercy-killed several members of the Hidden in Yamagata (who had been tortured and left to die by the Tohan) Yuki was touched by his compassion and impressed by his skill, remarking to him that "it was well done" without revealing her identity. Yuki participated in the Tribe's abduction of Takeo when the Kikuta claimed him during his assassination attempt on Iida Sadamu. However, she believed that the Tribe would never win Takeo's obedience due to his prior loyalty to the Otori and was angry with her father for taking him by force, believing it would inflame him further against the Tribe. She defied the Tribe by carrying correspondence between Takeo and his adoptive father Otori Shigeru, and even brought the ancestral Otori sword, Jato, to Takeo. After the Tribe agreed to allow Takeo to rescue Shigeru in exchange for joining them, Yuki helped him enter Inuyama castle and killed many of the Tohan guards and retainers alongside Takeo. She then carried Shigeru's head to the temple of Terayama and witnessed its' burial. Before the Tribe departed from Terayama, Yuki warned the Masters that she thought their decision to have Takeo train under Akio would eventually lead to disaster, due to the conflict between them. Grass For His Pillow During Takeo's time in hiding with the Tribe, despite two incidents where she had to discipline him for losing his temper and trying to escape, Yuki acted as one of his most important teachers. Sometime over the course of their journey northeast, she also became his lover, both out of genuine affection for him and because the Tribe Masters encouraged her to do so (wanting to either win Takeo's loyalty through her, or to preserve Takeo's powers in his possible offspring if his death became necessary). Yuki left Takeo shortly after discovering she was pregnant with his child, privately heartbroken that he did not fully return her love for him; his true feelings were always for Shirakawa Kaede. She also revealed to Kikuta Kotaro that Takeo had told her about how Shigeru had been aware of Takeo's existence and Tribe ancestry, indicating that Shigeru likely kept records on the Tribe. Once the Kikuta learned of her pregnancy, Yuki was moved to a Kikuta village near the mountainous eastern border of the Three Countries. There, she essentially became a hostage for the Kikuta to coerce the Muto to follow their lead, especially after Takeo defected from the Tribe. Under considerable pressure, she was finally married to Kikuta Akio, her childhood companion and Takeo's bitter rival for her affections. However, their relationship remained celibate, as he refused to touch her while she was carrying Takeo's child. The Kikuta's plan was for Akio to raise Takeo's child as his own and train the child to hate Takeo, and possibly use him to assassinate his father one day. Death: Brilliance of the Moon Since Yuki naturally would have opposed this due to her love for Takeo, she became the main obstacle to the Kikuta's plans. Not long after she had given birth to Takeo's son (who was named Kikuta Hisao) Akio was ordered by Kotaro to poison her; which he did with great reluctance. However, as she succumbed to the poison Yuki's grief and anger caused her spirit latched on to her infant son (who, unknown to anyone, was a ghostmaster), keeping her connected with the mortal world. The entire Muto family was grief-stricken when they learned of Yuki's death. Her parents each blamed the other for her loss, and Kenji was enraged enough by her murder that he turned fully against the Kikuta, seeking an alliance with Takeo to destroy them and using his influence to bring the other three Tribe families with him. When Takeo learned of her death, he wept; despite never having loved her the way he loved Kaede, he admitted to himself that he had both desired and felt affection for her, and he was ashamed and angry at the way the Kikuta had used her (and then disposed of her) in order to gain his child. He later apologized to Kenji for being responsible for his daughter's fate, but Kenji replied that he did not blame Takeo, as he had always known Yuki was an independent person and that she had chosen Takeo of her own free will. Skills and Abilities Yuki was physically very strong and fit due to constant training and exercise; she was agile, powerful and dexterous, being able to leap great distances and strike crippling blows against opponents with a single, well-placed blow. She had a great knowledge of pressure points and often used this to her advantage both when massaging or disabling a person's body. She was also skilled in climbing, swimming and the use of the garrote for assassinations. Yuki has some knowledge of business, having helped Kenji run his soybean-paste and wine merchandise. She is also skilled as an actress and as a prostitute, both roles she has played while on the road with other members of the Tribe. Yuki's rarer, more inherited Tribal abilities included invisibility, the second self and the Muto ability to dissemble her features, making her age and appearance nearly impossible to identify. After her death and her conversation with Hisao, Yuki's ghost temporarily gained the ability to manifest herself in human form again while she sought vengeance against all those who had wronged her.Category:Muto Family Category:Tribe members Category:Female Characters Category:Deceased